ERHC Energy to invest US$100 million in São Tomé and Príncipe’s oil block

Created: Tuesday, 08 July 2014 08:28

In 2001, São Tomé and Príncipe awarded ERHC preferential rights in the EEZ. (Image source: Conduqtor/Wikimedia Commons)ERHC Energy has announced that it will invest close to US$100mn for the exploration and development of Block 11 located offshore São Tomé and Príncipe

ERHC Energy has signed a 28-year production sharing agreement (PSC) with the National Petroleum Agency (ANP) for the oil block, which lies in the central African island nation’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Peter Ntephe, president of ERHC Energy, said, “The company will spend about US$100mn on seismic studies and drilling.”

The company also holds a 100 per cent working interest in Block 4, also located in the EEZ, Reuters reported.

São Tomé and Príncipe is a former Portuguese colony in Africa’s Gulf of Guinea. Other companies operating in the country include Equator Exploration on Blocks 5 and 12, Sinoangol — a joint venture between China’s Sinopec and Angolan state oil company Sonangol — on Block 2, and Nigeria’s Oranto Petroleum on Block 3.

According to government sources, 15 blocks are yet to be awarded in the country.